Millicent's Gift [book review]

Rinaldi, Ann. Millicent's Gift. Harper Collins, 2002. ISBN 0060296372. $15.00. 218 pp. Reviewer: Lillian H. Heil Reading Level: Intermediate Rating: Excellent Genre: Fantasy Fiction; Subject: Magic--Juvenile fiction; Family problems--Juvenile fiction; Supernatural -- Fiction; Millicent is sort of a modern day Merlin. She belongs to a family that has the gift of magic and when she reaches 14 her apprenticeship ends and she can use it. The most powerful part of her gift is that she has one wish that can be used any way she wants (within the limits set in her apprenticeship). However, her training is rigorous and she must follow the rule of never telling a lie or she loses her gift. Not everyone in Millicent's family approves of magic; her father left her mother because of it and her oldest brother Mac (police chief and her guardian) has renounced his claim to magic. He wants her to renounce it too, and live a normal life. It is intriguing to see how Rinaldi handles a situation in which some of the characters believe in magic and some claim not to. The family conflict comes to an exciting climax with Millicent caught in the middle of it (in the shape of a deer). Even non-fantasy loving readers might enjoy this story of a girl caught between the world of reality and the world of magic.

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Rinaldi, Ann. Millicent's Gift. Harper Collins, 2002. ISBN 0060296372. $15.00. 218 pp. Reviewer: Lillian H. Heil Reading Level: Intermediate Rating: Excellent Genre: Fantasy Fiction; Subject: Magic--Juvenile fiction; Family problems--Juvenile fiction; Supernatural -- Fiction; Millicent is sort of a modern day Merlin. She belongs to a family that has the gift of magic and when she reaches 14 her apprenticeship ends and she can use it. The most powerful part of her gift is that she has one wish that can be used any way she wants (within the limits set in her apprenticeship). However, her training is rigorous and she must follow the rule of never telling a lie or she loses her gift. Not everyone in Millicent's family approves of magic; her father left her mother because of it and her oldest brother Mac (police chief and her guardian) has renounced his claim to magic. He wants her to renounce it too, and live a normal life. It is intriguing to see how Rinaldi handles a situation in which some of the characters believe in magic and some claim not to. The family conflict comes to an exciting climax with Millicent caught in the middle of it (in the shape of a deer). Even non-fantasy loving readers might enjoy this story of a girl caught between the world of reality and the world of magic.

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